Feels Like Flying
by Marauding Mara
Summary: One-shot linked to My Everlasting Love. It's the middle of Winter and the Marauders are up for some heavy snowball fighting with the girls. Mary would love to join them, but there is that dratted Potions assignment she needs to finish... S/OC


**Author's note: **I was clicking through some older one-shots I've written and posted on that other HP-site of mine and came across this little thing. Sort of like a lost chapter from My Everlasting Love, hahaha. Anyway, I don't believe I also posted that one here, so here it is now. Enjoy!

**Dedication: **UnbreakableLittleMind15, who left me the cutest little rambling-message I received in ages. Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **Who's surprised when I say that I do not own anything? My point exactly.

**Feels Like Flying**

Mary Woods was walking down an aisle of the Potions section in the library of Hogwarts. She was currently looking for a special book on drafts to enchant the human mind, because it carried clear instructions on how to brew a Delusional Draft, the potion they were supposed to make in their upcoming Potions class. She knew this because she had asked Professor Slughorn, and he had been kind enough to recommend taking a close look at this book.

She had never been able to tell if Slughorn liked her – she did know she wasn't one of his favorites like Lily – but he seemed pleased when she told him she was determined to improve her (currently poor) Potion skills. Mary knew she would never belong to the top of this class, but – considering she had to achieve at least an E to get into the Healer Program – she wanted to for once succeed in brewing a reasonable NEWT-level potion without screwing it up or having to ask Lily or Sirius for help.

Mary rounded the corner to the next aisle and let her eyes run over the endless rows of books. If only she knew where to look… She glanced over her shoulder when she felt she was being watched and noticed that about a dozen girls who sat at a nearby table were all glaring at her. Mary didn't need to ask why they looked like they wanted to curse her. It was because she was Sirius Black's girlfriend. The two of them had been going out for only two (blissfully happy) weeks, but news spread fast around Hogwarts and Sirius was the most popular guy in school, so it made sense that most girls didn't like her too much at the moment.

Not that she was very bothered by this. The girls at the table were a lot younger, and she simply replied to the hateful looks by smiling sweetly before turning her attention back to the books. And there, on the top shelf on the left side, stood a book called _Bewitch the Mind & Ensnare the Senses, by Gertrude Ravelli_. It was too high for her to reach, so – after checking that Madam Pince wasn't around - Mary grabbed her wand. A book called _Poisons from the far East_ that was standing next to it hissed ominously when she pointed her wand at the shelf and Mary rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she hissed softly. "I'm not interested in you. _Accio_."

Right when the book on mind-bewitching potions was zooming into her hand, Mary heard a chuckle behind her. It was Sirius, who was leaning back against the bookcase as he watched her with an amused twinkle in his grey eyes. He looked extremely handsome, smiling at her like that with his hands in his pockets. He had loosened his tie slightly, which made him look all the more sexy. Sirius looked like he knew what she was thinking and Mary couldn't prevent a blush from creeping up her cheeks. "Hi," she said quietly, turning the book over in her hands to withdraw the attention from her flustered face. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to witness you talking to a book. Very odd indeed." He walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "I've been looking everywhere. What haven you been doing?"

Mary showed him the book. "Slughorn said I should revise this book in order to prepare myself for the next Potions lesson."

"Pffft Potions, Schmotions," Sirius said while he slipped his hands around her waist. "I came to get you. We're all heading out for an old-fashioned snowball fight. Wanna come?"

Participating in a snowball fight sure sounded a lot more fun than studying Potions, but Mary knew she would never forgive herself if she didn't pass that Potions assignment. "Sorry, I can't."

Sirius merely smiled and pulled her even closer to him. "If you'd rather be spending some time alone," he whispered softly in her ear. "That would be more than fine with me. You know, there's this roomy broom cupboard up near Filch's office…"

Mary had put a hand on his chest to hold him off. "You know me well enough by now to know I don't "do" broom cupboards."

He didn't even look insulted or embarrassed and Mary wondered if Sirius knew anything about feeling insecure around girls. He just shot her a curious look and asked: "Then what is your thing, Mary?"

She arched an eyebrow. "My _thing_?"

"Yeah, what space do you prefer to do some decent snogging? A deserted Common Room at night, an alcove… Oh, I know this amazing room with countless squishy pillows and scented candles on the seventh floor…" He shot her another look and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Or would you rather have a go in the restricted section of the library?"

Mary laughed, shaking her head. She knew Sirius was just teasing her, and the only way to get back at him was to give in just a little before walking away. She slid her arms around his neck and leaned in so close that there wasn't so much as an inch left between their bodies. "All of the above," she whispered before adding in a far less sulty voice: "But not now. Now I have to study."

She turned abruptly and walked straight to Madam Pince's desk, leaving a rather bewildered Sirius behind in the aisle. "That's a first," Mary sniggered to herself, feeling pleased. It took Sirius another minute to regain his composure. Right after Madam Pince had told her she needed the book back by Monday and Mary was walking out of the library, he caught up with her and reached for her hand. "Are you sure you don't want to come? You'll have plenty of time to study tonight. I'll help if you want."

Mary squeezed his hand. "That's very sweet, but you and I both know we wouldn't come round to any studying at all."

Sirius laughed. "Probably not. But you don't mind if I…"

"What? No, of course not. You go have fun and I'll see you tonight."

"Great." Sirius chuckled, his eyes suddenly twinkling mischievously. "Say, how do you feel about crowded corridors?"

Mary laughed. "That depends on what you have in mind- Wait, Sirius!"

But he had already swooped her in his arms and down to the ground in one movement and kissed her passionately, like they were a couple in one of those old-fashioned movies. Most of the students in the hallway cheered and whistled loudly, although Mary could also sense the hostile glares of several girls on her. When Sirius had finally put her back on her feet, he was grinning confidently. "That should keep you going throughout the day."

"I would think so," Mary replied breathlessly while she pulled a hand through her hair. At the same time, she was trying to ignore the raving butterflies in her belly and stop her legs from trembling.

Sirius didn't seem to notice. "See ya," he said winking at her, and he whistled to himself as he walked into the direction of the Entrance Hall.

Mary stared after him, wanting nothing more than to join him and the others in that snowball fight, but she knew she couldn't. If she wanted to pass this Potions assignment and, eventually, the NEWT, she had to improve her skills, and fast. She sighed and was about to head to the common room when a small Ravenclaw-girl tugged her sleeve. Mary looked down and concluded the girl couldn't be older than eleven or twelve. "Can I help you with something?" she asked kindly.

"Yes," the girl nodded. "Is… Is Sirius Black every bit as good as a kisser as he appears to be?"

Mary shot the girl an amused look. Of course she could tell her that Sirius didn't always exactly live up to his reputation. That might crush his immense ego just a bit, but truth of the matter was that she would be lying. Sirius _was_ an amazing kisser. So instead, she crouched down and nodded. "Part of me wished I could tell you otherwise, but… He is."

"I knew it…" the girl gasped breathlessly before hurrying over to her friends who were huddled in front of the library. Mary smiled as she watched the girl informing her friends on what she had just find out before she climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. None of her friends were around when she got there, which made sense. They were probably still out playing around in the snow. Mary sighed and stared at the Potions book. She would give anything to be outside with her friends right now. Instead, she turned to the right page of the book, picked up her quill and got to work.

Mary studied all afternoon, trying to memorize every step in order to make the perfect Delusional Draft. She only took a break to have dinner and was forced to listen to the excited stories of the others: how Remus showered Brice in piles of fresh snow, how James successfully charmed a huge snowball to chase Sirius all around the lake, how Lily repeatedly hit Peter right in the face with her snowballs… It just emphasized how much Mary had missed, all because she had to focus on that stupid Potions assignment. "Well," she thought surly while she listened to Remus talking about planning to build an entire fort of snow and ice at the edge of the Forbidden Forest after dinner, "It had better be worth the trouble."

* * *

It wasn't. Not only did Mary not achieve an E or O in brewing the Delusional Draft, she messed up completely. Maybe it happened because she was much too tense and felt she was doing an actual exam or perhaps she just didn't pay enough attention when she had to add exactly fourteen and a half grams of powdered unicorn horn. It didn't really matter what went wrong, because at the end of the lesson, Mary's draft wasn't smooth and pink, but clotted and dark red. It resulted in empathetic looks from Lily and Sirius and a disappointed tut from Professor Slughorn. She wasn't sure which felt worse.

Mary remained grouchy throughout the day and ignored everyone who dared to try and cheer her up. It wasn't like she blamed any of them for what happened because she could only blame herself. It made her wonder how far she would get in the Healer Program, if she would ever be accepted at all. Which her current mark in Potions, it certainly didn't look like it.

Even the compliment Professor McGonagall gave her after successfully transfiguring a wild boar to an occasional table and back couldn't cheer her up. Mary spent the rest of the afternoon in her dormitory and only came down for dinner. The first thing that brought a (small) smile to her face wasn't that her friends greeted her like nothing had happened (which she did appreciate), but the fact that her eyes fell on the dessert of that night: tiramisu. That was even better than eating a whole bar of chocolate. Feeling slightly more cheerful, she dived into her dish of chicken and rice.

Mary was merely listening to the others who were talking about the parents of a first year-Gryffindor boy who vanished without a trace when she noticed two of their party weren't down in the Great Hall. She leaned over to her friend Brice. "Where are Sirius and Peter?"

"They said they had to get something," Brice replied after swallowing a mouthful of potatoes. "I don't know what, though. Candy, I think. Peter seemed very enthusiastic about it." She shot her a close look. "So how are you? I heard what happened in the dungeons earlier today…"

Mary sighed miserably. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah, we got that vibe," Lily said from across the table, who had been listening closely. "But... I wanted to tell you this before, but all you'll have to do is to practice. You're not _that_ bad at Potions."

Mary made a scornful sound and Remus nudged her, smiling. "It's true. My draft turned out blue in case you hadn't noticed. And Paul Murphy, you know that friend of Snape's? - he made his cauldron melt, _again_."

She looked up, surprised. "He did? How could I have missed that?"

James laughed. "Mary, I think Slughorn could have fired a cannon next to your table and you wouldn't have noticed."

This comment did make Mary laugh and James, encouraged by her change of mood, grinned. "And all things considered… Let's face it: it was hilarious."

Mary's smile faltered and Lily shot James an admonishing look. "Of course it wasn't funny."

"It was!" James said, waving at Sirius and Peter who were walking down the aisle towards them. "Mary has studied all day, whereas she could have hung out with us and would have done just as bad."

Sirius and Peter had sat down on either side of Mary. Sirius kissed her and asked how she was doing. She smiled back weakly. Meanwhile, Brice was glaring at James. "Tell me, are you really the insensitive git you always pretend to be?"

James shot her a mock-hurt look. "Okay, one: ow. And two: no, I'm not and it _was_ funny."

"No, it wasn't," Lily replied, softly nudging her boyfriend. "Mary studied very hard and her efforts weren't rewarded. That's not even remotely fun, it sucks."

"Not exactly."

Remus, who had stayed out of the discussion until now, was frowning at his friend. "James, now would be the time for you to respectfully shut up."

Mary was staring down at her chicken and realized she had lost her appetite. She pushed the half-empty plate away from her and looked at James. "How is this funny to you?"

"Maybe I'm using the wrong word," he explained. "What happened to you is total irony."

"Excuse me?"

"You studied your butt off yesterday in order to get great marks instead of having fun in the snow and you still failed: that's ironic," James said. He was grinning but his smile faltered under Lily's stern glare and his gaze shifted to Sirius. "Padfoot, back me up here."

Sirius didn't reply immediately, but chewed on his chicken thoughtfully. "Well… When you look at it like that," he said after another moment, "It _is_ kind of funny."

Mary shot him an incredulous look, indignant that her boyfriend was siding with his best friend instead of her. James on the other hand nodded solemnly. "See, it was ironic. And irony is always funny."

A furious Mary jumped up from the bench. "Maybe to you it is, but _not_ to me!"

She turned around and stormed out of the Great Hall without looking back or replying to the calls of Sirius and her friends. Once she had reached the Entrance Hall, Mary considered heading to her dormitory and burying herself under the blankets, but then she realized what she really wanted was to go outside and get some fresh air.

Mary walked outside and took a few deep and icy breaths. It was a beautiful clear and cold December night. There was hardly any wind and the light of the moon and stars got reflected in the water and the snow on the ground. Mary's shoes were making rustling sounds on the fresh snow as she walked. It calmed her down, but could not make the tight knot in her chest disappear. "Ugh, James can be such a jerk!" Mary muttered to herself.

Realizing it was because of him that she was missing out on her precious tiramisu dessert, Mary picked up a small stone and cast it into the lake with force. Part of her realized James didn't hurt her on purpose, but he just didn't understand how important it was to achieve a good grade in Potions. Her future as a Healer was on the line here. And that was all she ever wanted, all she ever dreamed about…

Mary walked down to the bank of the lake. The water looked dark and ominous and she wondered how cold it would be. Crouching down, she reached for a small twig floating near the surface and almost immediately had to pull back her hand. The water was freezing. She got up shivering and wrapped her scarf more tightly around her neck. A dog was barking in the distance; Hagrid was walking in the direction of the Forbidden Forest with Fang at his side. He waved when he spotted her and she waved back.

She was just considering to ask him if she could help out when a plate of tiramisu happened to be floating right before her in mid-air. She was still staring at it in surprise when she heard someone say: "You forgot your dessert."

Sirius was standing only a few feet behind her. He was still carefully levitating the plate of tiramisu with his wand in one hand and holding his broom in the other. Mary shot him a curious look. "You came down here just to bring me some tiramisu?"

"Lily said that you were probably more bummed out over the fact that you missed out on this dessert than anything else, so I thought I'd bring a very large piece. Think of it as a truce-offer if you will."

Mary smiled as she realized once again how well Lily knew her and looked at the tiramisu. "Someone already took a bite."

Sirius burst out laughing. "Okay, like _half_ a truce-offer, then. It smelled too good, love. I couldn't help myself."

She grabbed hold of the plate. "Thanks, I guess… But why a truce-offer?"

"For what I said at dinner, of course," he replied, looking surprised.

Mary shrugged and turned back towards the lake. "I'm not mad at you."

"Okay…" he said before dropping his broom to the ground and making his way over to her. "Then why are you acting all aloof?" He was now standing next to her and stared out over the lake. "James was just goofing around."

She sighed. "I'm not mad at him either. You guys just don't understand."

"What don't I understand?"

"How important it is to get a good grade in Potions."

"Oh, I know why. But there's still enough time to improve your skills before you have to take the NEWT-exam."

Mary shook her head. "You really _don't_ get it, do you?" Sirius didn't reply. Instead, he just looked at her and she sighed before she continued: "If I took my NEWTS right now, I would achieve an E or O in every single course but that stupid Potions. It would be quite the anti-climax after seven years of hard work to not be accepted at the Program because of one fail grade."

"Who says you'll have to give up your dream when you don't get an E in Potions?"

Mary put a lock of hair behind her ear. "Because brewing Potions is one of the most important classes at the Program."

"So?" Sirius asked before blowing into his cold hands in an attempt to warm them up.

"_So_… It's like dreaming of becoming an Auror when you suck at Defense."

Sirius shrugged and reached for her hand. His touch now felt surprisingly warm. "Wanna know what I think?"

"What?"

"That you're not that disastrous at Potions at all. Remember the Amortentia?"

Mary smiled. "How could I forget? It was you who saved my butt in there."

Sirius pulled her closer to him. "I still stand by what I said that day. You _can_ brew those potions as well as the rest of us."

Mary suddenly felt so grateful for his self-evident trust that she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Sirius responded eagerly and only let go when she pulled back a few minutes later. She smiled at him. "Yum, tiramisu."

Sirius laughed. "Well, there's a whole plate of it left." He acciod two pebbles from the ground and transfigured them into forks. "Dig in."

They fed each other several forks of tiramisu until they had enough. Sirius made the plate and forks disappear with another wave of his wand. "Look, if you want to get better at Potions, you need to control your nerves. And knowing how to relax once in a while wouldn't hurt either. Which is why I brought this."

He turned and pointed to the broom. Mary followed his finger and lifted her eyebrows in surprise. "A broom?"

"Yes," he replied grinning. "You'd be surprised how relaxed it'll make you feel. Have you ever tried it before?"

"Only in our first year, but seriously, I'm not getting on that broom."

Sirius, who had already picked up the broomstick from the ground, shot her an amused look. "You don't happen to have a mysterious phobia of brooms, do you? A wood allergy perhaps?"

"What are you talking about?"

"No broom cupboards, no broomsticks… I'm sensing a pattern here."

Mary rolled her eyes and walked over to him. "Fine… But the water is icecold."

"We're going to _fly_, Mare. I never said anything about swimming."

"I know, but if you drop me…"

"Well, no guarantees. You'll have to trust me. Now hop on."

Mary hesitantly swung her leg over the broomstick and placed her hands on the handle. It quivered slightly the moment she touched it and she shot an anxious look over her shoulder. "I'm not sure if I can do this."

"Relax, I won't let you fly on your own. At least not yet," he added mischievously as he slid on the broom behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands over hers. "Maybe if you're a good girl, I'll let you fly us back to common room."

Mary nodded, feeling nervous, and expected him to explain what she had to do next but instead, she suddenly felt his lips softly grazing her neck. "Sirius," she giggled, trying to ignore the belly butterflies who had started to jump up and down again. "This isn't exactly helping me focus!"

"Sorry," he mumbled, his lips still down her neck. After lingering there for another moment, he did pull back and steadied his grip. "It's just that you're even yummier than the tiramisu, I couldn't resist."

Mary blushed fiercely and was suddenly very aware of Sirius's body being so close to her own. She thanked Merlin in silence for the vast Winter darkness surrounding them. "Ehm right… So eh… what happens next?"

"Now I'm going to kick off the ground. Just hold on- three, two, one…"

He kicked up and off they went. Mary noticed the safe ground disappearing rapidly below them and fought the temptation to snap her eyes shut. Instead, she hold onto the broom a little tighter. They were ascending even more quickly now; the cold wind was howling violently around her ears, causing her eyes to tear up. Higher and higher they went; Sirius was still in charge as he steered them right over the Astronomy Tower. Mary caught a brief glimpse of Professor Clearwater who was up in her room, gazing intently at a crystal ball. But the Divination Professor had already disappeared from view only a second later. Sirius circled around the castle several times before he finally slowed down and paused right above the greenhouses. "Are you having fun?" he cried.

Truth was, Mary didn't really know if she _was_ having fun. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, sure enough. And she felt very excited as well; in a terrified "Oh God, I'm going to die"-way. "I guess so. But it's so high up here. And you actually do this to _relax_?"

Sirius laughed. "It's more a way of blowing off steam, but I suppose it also relaxes me, yes. Are you ready to take over?"

"What?? No, I'm not–"

But he had already let go of the handle and Mary was forced to grab it in order to prevent the broom from crashing down. She was holding onto the broom for dear life, terrified and unsure about what to do next, but Sirius didn't seem to be worried at all. He simply slid his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Very good. Now just move the broom in the direction where you want to go and speed up a little."

Mary realized she had no choice but to obey him. She knew Sirius well enough to know he would hang out here in the air for hours until she _had_ gathered enough nerve to fly on her own. So she turned the broom towards the other end of the roof and sped up. To her surprise, the broom obeyed immediately and they flew across the roof smoothly. She was already very pleased with herself, but it wasn't over yet. "You know," came Sirius's dry voice in her ear. "There's no speeding limit up here. You could go a little faster…"

Mary laughed and decided to give it a go. Soon she was circling the castle like Sirius had done earlier. Not quite as fast, but not slow either. Sirius was occasionally whispering instructions to her and in the end, she even managed to do a looping. Afterwards, Sirius took over again and flew straight to her dormitory window in the Gryffindor Tower. He helped her get inside and was still floating next to the window when she leaned back out to kiss him godnight. "Thanks, I really enjoyed myself."

Sirius gently pulled a hand through her hair. "I'll have to bring my broom back, but before I go… Know that I'll do everything I can to help you out with Potions."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I have this feeling you'd be one hell of a Healer and one stupid Potions grade shouldn't come between that."

Mary smiled. "I don't know about that, but thanks…"

"And if you don't get into the Healer Program after all, you could always join me and James at Auror Training."

She lifted an eyebrow. "You need an E in Potions to get into that program as well."

Sirius shrugged. "Professor Zabini is your biggest fan. I'm sure he could arrange something." He leaned in for another kiss and whispered: "I'll see you at breakfast. Goodnight."

He winked at her, turned his broom and flew down towards the ground, but not before he had done another few spectacular loopings. Mary rolled her eyes and shut her dormitory window. "Show off," she muttered darkly.

"Who is?" Brice was sitting on top of her bed with a book on her lap.

"Sirius Black," Mary said darkly, but she couldn't help but grin like a fool in love. "He took me out flying and it was well… fun. Where's Lily?"

"Patrolling the corridors with James. Are you still mad at him?"

Mary reached for her hairbrush on the nightstand. "I wasn't mad. Just frustrated that he failed to define the meaning of irony correctly."

Brice wasn't even looking up from her book. "Whether it was funny or not, he did have a point."

"Not really. You see, there are two kinds of irony: funny and tragic. He classified "my" experience in the funny category. Which, of course, it wasn't. Not to me at least."

Her friend shrugged. "I guess that's true."

"Exactly," Mary replied, placing the hairbrush back on the nightstand and starting to braid her hair when she thought of something. "Hey, wanna hear a perfect example of funny irony?"

She suddenly seemed to have Brice's full attention, because her friend was finally looking up from her book. "I'm all ears."

"Falling head over heels with the most arrogant guy in Hogwarts whom you loathed throughout your school career, now _that's_ what I call irony."

They both laughed aloud. When they had finally calmed down a bit, Brice – still sniggering – said: "Well, obviously I cannot speak for myself here, but I'm fairly certain a certain redhead we both know would agree."

**- The End -**

**A/N** Thoughts?


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